Two of my three o/u shotguns have two triggers. I learn to shoot using two triggers and find it quicker to select the barrel/choke I need when bird hunting that to hit the selector button on my SKB when needing the tighter choke.
My guess is that the guys were just joshing with you.

I have heard of double single triggers on some really high end doubles, combining the best of double triggers and single trigger designs.
The front trigger fires the bottom or right barrel on the first pull and the other barrel on the second pull.
The rear trigger fires the top or left barrel on the first pull and the other barrel on the second pull.

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The Browning Superposed (the "Twin-Single"variant) and the Mauser Model 620 are two shotguns that offered this feature on some of their guns. Imo, this double trigger set-up, at least theoretically, is by far the best approach to "barrel selection" but over time I have read that the mechanism was overly complicated, expensive to make and failure prone.

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Seems to me that I read one of Michael McIntosh's books about shotgunning in which he discusses the fact that single trigger guns have a disconnect that operates during recoil and which isolates the trigger from the sear because under recoil the trigger finger involuntarily pulls the trigger a second time.
Does that idea sound familiar to anyone else?
If I am remembering that correctly, then putting fingers on both triggers of a double trigger gun seems unwise at best.
Pete

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One of the earliest solutions to the problem of single trigger guns bump firing the second barrel due to recoil pulling the gun away from the trigger finger and then bouncing back was something called the "three pull trigger". If you dry fire the gun, the first pull releases the first hammer, the second pull switches the trigger to the second sear, and the third pull released the second hammer.
During actual shooting, the trigger switches to the other sear from the gun rebounding off your shoulder after the first shot causing you to pull the trigger twice and it appears like it only takes two pulls of the trigger.
I learned about this from a book written by W.W. Greener.

My Ruger O/U has an inertia weight that blocks the trigger while the gun is under recoil to prevent a bump fire double discharge. It has a mechanical trigger, you can dry fire both barrels withoug having to bump the stock to simulate recoil to get it to switch barrels.

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"Do not invoke conspiracy as explanation when ignorance and incompetence will suffice, as conspiracy implies intelligence and organization."

One of the problems with shooting both barrels at once is that it is virtually impossible to shoot both barrels exactly at the same time, one will always shoot a fraction of a second before the other. Because of the recoil of the first barrel resulting in barrel jump, the second barrel will always shoot over the target.

Try it on a big patterning board if you don't believe me.

Also, the bore lines of double barrels converge to compensate for barrel jump during the shot's barrel travel. The top barrel of an O/U jumps more than the bottom barrel so it has to be aimed lower to hit the target. The left barrel of a SXS jumps up and to the left while the right barrel jumps up and to the right.

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"Do not invoke conspiracy as explanation when ignorance and incompetence will suffice, as conspiracy implies intelligence and organization."

I've always figured having both barrels going off exactly together would put a lot of stress on the weild.
But I've spoken with my SG guru (my grandfather) and he says he used to shoot with one fella pretty regularly who used a two finger method. And was left handed to boot. Says he shot well enough to hang with the big boys. So I suppose there are folks out there who do this.

One of the reasons why you would want dual triggers is so you can fire the chokes in order, open first or open second, depending on the direction and distance of the flying game. Most single triggers I have handled had no switch to alternate barrels. You choose your trigger by your CHOKE, not by where the booger hook fits best.

Elmer keith is one of the greatest authorities in use of a double gun known to history. His choice of a double .577 nitro was simple; the sidelock double can have one barrel completely disabled by mechanical failure, but the second barrel will almost certainly still be functional, and be still as good as the single shot rifles that african hunters had used for decades already.

My personal preference is front first, your finger naturally slides from front to back, and I would choose to set my choke tubes in the order that this would be best facilitated, depending on in or outgoing game.

As I recall when I was a teenager and hunted with a 10 ga double I learned not to shoot the front trigger first because my finger slipped off to the second trigger and the two shots doubling with a 10 ga 3 1/2" and 2 oz loads at a duck almost drove me down in the swamp.

They were either stupid or just plain didn't know what they were talking about, or joshing you.

I have hunted with and shot side by sides for 40yrs. As far as I am concerned, the double trigger side by side is nearly perfect for hunting flushing birds. And most of the time, one shoots the more open choked barrel first, but it seem that on almost every hunt, there is a time when a bird flushed almost out of range and I will want to fire the tighter choked barrel first. With the double trigger gun, I have instant choice of which barrel to choose, by just slipping my finger back to the rear trigger on most of my guns. I have never had a single selective trigger that I could choose chokes on, in the heat of the flush.

Shooting with two fingers is only a stunt done or tried mostly by a person that is trying to show off or just plain inexperienced with double trigger guns.

One finger in the trigger guard is the only correct way for wingshooting.
I have also heard it said that the reason for straight stocks is so that you can slide your hand more easily when you change triggers. While some people may do this, I have been shooting SxSs with two triggers for several decades and I have yet to have to move anything but my trigger finger to change triggers going in either direction depending on whether the target was incoming or outgoing. I have owned SxSs in everything from 10 gauge to 28, except 16 and .410, and I have no preference between two triggers and a good single trigger, except for heavy waterfowling, and there I do prefer a single trigger. I do not tend to grip a gun tightly, and I have had the back of the trigger guard beat the devil out of my middle finger more than once with double trigger guns and very heavy loads, even with gloves on.

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^^^^^ yep. IMO DT work best with a straight English stock as it allows you to slide your hand ever so slightly so you can use either trigger first in a quick manner. SxS guns with single triggers, beavertail forearms and pistol grips just look so wrong in so many ways!....

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